School worker used district funds on $230K shopping spree at Wayfair, Amazon, feds say
More than $230,000 of school district grant money meant to fund early childhood programs in Arkansas was used to fund a Little Rock woman’s personal shopping sprees, officials say.
Karen James, former director of early childhood education and elementary literacy for Little Rock School District, pleaded guilty to mail fraud on Feb. 9 after she was accused of spending $230,635.86 on fraudulent purchases, according to a news release from the U.S. Attorney’s Office.
The defense attorney representing James did not immediately respond to a request for statement from McClatchy News.
Officials say James, now 48, used Little Rock School District credit cards to shop online for herself from August 2014 until she was caught in August 2018.
“The Little Rock School District’s (LRSD) own internal monitoring and auditing process resulted in the discovery of the inappropriate use of the credit card,” a district spokesperson told McClatchy News.
Some of those unauthorized purchases included a $128 set of bath rugs and a $1,000 recliner from Wayfair, along with 2,462 items from Amazon totaling more than $199,000 — including home goods, clothing, knitting materials, makeup, pet products and gift cards, according to her plea agreement filed in court.
James also admitted to 83 unauthorized purchases totaling over $27,000 through PayPal, according to the news release.
To hide the fraudulent, unauthorized purchases, James admitted to having the products delivered to her home, a neighbor’s house and to family in Missouri. She also said she submitted fabricated sales receipts and altered transaction logs that made it appear as though she was making authorized purchases.
Authorities say the two credit cards she had access to were funded by state and federal grants.
As part of her plea, James agrees to pay back the full $230,635.86 in restitution to the school district, according to the news release. Her full sentencing will be determined at a later date.
Little Rock School District says James resigned from her position “in lieu of termination” after she was placed on administrative leave during the investigation. The district says it has also added “an additional safeguard” to prevent future fraudulent purchases.
This story was originally published February 11, 2022 at 2:38 PM with the headline "School worker used district funds on $230K shopping spree at Wayfair, Amazon, feds say."